ROBERT MACPHERSON, Luxembourg | Tuesday
EU foreign ministers set the wheels in motion on Monday to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe if it fails to make immediate progress towards greater democracy.
Meeting in Luxembourg, they put into action Article 96 of the Cotonou agreement that governs relations between the European Union and its African-Caribbean-Pacific partners.
That means Zimbabwe will be sent a formal letter by the 15-nation EU asking for consultations within 15 days on five contentious issues: ending political violence, election monitoring, press freedom, judicial independence, and a halt to illegal occupation of white-owned farms.
Once the consultations are completed, the European Union would then have up to 60 days to decide what action it might take — action widely expectedly to include sanctions aimed at isolating President Robert Mugabe’s regime.
“We’ve moved from a benign position with Zimbabwe to one of active engagement,” British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told journalists at the end of the EU Council of Ministers conclave.
“We’re saying to them: ‘We’re very concerned about these problems, and we want to have really serious discussions with you’,” he said.
Monday’s decision followed Zimbabwe’s refusal to accept EU election observers, as the southern African state gears up for a presidential vote in March or April next year.
It also followed a Commonwealth delegation’s appeal in Harare on Saturday for Mugabe’s government to respect its own laws and investigate reports of widespread rights violations.
Though EU External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten declined to put a value on possible sanctions, he said they would be “proportional” to Zimbabwe’s reaction.
In a worse-case scenario, sources said, the EU could freeze up to 200-million euros ($180-million) in long-term development assistance that has been earmarked for the country.
Zimbabwe also gets 10-million euros for EU-backed health and education programs for the nation’s poorest, but those funds are channelled through selected non-governmental organisations.
In their conclusions Monday, the EU foreign ministers said they had seen “no visible progress” in Zimbabwe since they reviewed the situation four months ago.
Though Britain has been an outspoken critic of Mugabe’s policies, Straw said the lead on Monday was taken by Finland and the Netherlands.
Zimbabwe’s government last Tuesday rejected an ultimatum issued by Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel to decide whether to allow EU observers during next year’s presidential elections.
Belgium currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
Voter registration is already underway for the presidential polls, in which Mugabe is set to face a robust challenge from Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
The possibility of EU sanctions comes as the US House of Representatives is considering a bill that would impose a travel ban on Mugabe and freeze the assets belonging to him and other top officials in his party. – AFP